


Red Eyes

by gyromitra



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High Fantasy Space Opera, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, It's AlphaZero, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, People snarking at one another, So: Angst and humor, Swearing, cryptic bullshit, mentioned polyamorous relationships, who am I kidding, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:04:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8534221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyromitra/pseuds/gyromitra
Summary: High Fantasy Space Opera AU. (Yep. I just wrote that. Kill me.) This will be the last one – and this will be a slower one in storytelling. So, enjoy?
Chapter 4: We move to Jack's POV, and somehow it's an angstfest.





	1. Chapter 1

It is all he can remember. Brown eyes turning red. Claws striking his face. Fingers choking him, digging into his flesh.

And then the Artifact comes to life flooding everything with blinding light and red eyes dissolve into nothing in the wisps of a decaying black.

When they find him, his blood pooling below at the base of the stairs, pupils and hair turned white, he is dead – in more ways than one.

 

***

 

“You know, old man, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, if they got a ship with seventy sixth in its name, they not a crew with a gleaming track record, yeah?” Jack sighs, looking at Jesse.

“We’re not throwing in with them, we are only hitching a slow ride to Pavula system.” Jesse rolls his eyes in response. One day he will get the bastard to explain to him exactly why he is so against any faster type of transportation. They could even get on a line flight and be done with this shit trip in two days, not in fucking two weeks. On a ship that doesn’t look like there’s much keeping it together, and is obviously a seventy sixth of its name. “Grab your bags, the payment went through.”

“Sure, old man,” Jesse grumbles as Jack clicks his visor. The contraption is certainly drawing a lot less attention than what danu hides behind it. Not the scars that look like some wild beast attacked him or someone tried to cut off his face with a dull knife, but watery blue eyes with white pupils. To be frank, Jesse had never seen anyone with those, and he had seen some crazy mods in his life before. Even crazier on people he met in the years with Jack. And the only thing Jack told him was ‘It just happened one day’.

Like ‘it just happened one day’ he blew up a Deadlock shipyard, shot up and grenaded whole regiment of grunts, meleed to death their three psykers, and then dragged him screaming and kicking in the cuffs in his one old man army fashion. After several beatings that rendered him black and blue Jesse decided that he maybe should listen to the batshit crazy danu, if he wanted to survive the ordeal. When asked later why, the old bastard just shrugged and grumbled something about not being right in the head apparently.

So here they were, hitching a ride to Pavula, Jesse following Jack on his personal crusade against Talon through the outer systems (how many years already?), and the old man seemed slightly more paranoid than usual last days. An itch in the back of his mind, he said, right. The worst of it was, danu was usually right about those itches. Landed them in a shit tornado more often than not, but on the other hand it always looked like the tornado could have been a black hole instead under different circumstances.

So Jesse puts on his hat and follows the old grumpy man to the dock and snickers as Jack becomes livid at the schmucks standing guard at the elevator while waving his datapad, because theirs is not yet updated.

“So, uh, you bringing ordnance abroad?” This is gold, Jesse thinks, when Jack rolls his eyes, and points to the rifle at his back, a fucking bitchass piece of a gun that’s almost as long as danu is high.

“Duh? No, that’s my flute, you fucking moron,” he spats out. “But I use it as a blunt weapon.”

“Right,” the poor merc is nervous. “Step in.”

“You might have been onto something with the seventy sixth in the name,” Jack sighs, feeling the coming headache, as the lift surges upwards.

“Told you so, old man.”

Danu shows him the most universal pangalactic gesture.

 

***

 

It’s only two days into the flight that Jack lights his cigarette on the entertainment deck just as another ship emerges outside the hull of Murderous Rupert the Seventy Sixth. His eyes go wide, because he knows that ship and knows they are royally fucked sideways. Amarilla uncurls her armaments after a hyperspace jump while he inhales the smoke and taps the frequency Jesse knows to always keep open.

“Pest, grab your gear and go to the cargo holds. I will join you soon,” he says as he starts walking back.

“What’s going on, old man?” Jesse answers breathless and there is a moan in the background.

“There will be serious shit going down very soon, we better get out of the way, and I mean it. Or they will just vaporize us.”

“That bad?”

“Capital warship bad.”

“Right, got to untangle, old man, and coming.”

They actually meet on the way, and Jack can’t help being a little – only a little – proud of the kid, because while still red in face, partially undressed and sweaty hair plastered to his face, he is in his battle harness, and lugs all their gear. Seems some lessons managed to stuck with him despite his inherited pigheadedness. Jesse throws him his bag and shoves the rifle into his hands.

“Fucking get something more subtle, old man. Or at least, lighter.” Jack dismisses the comment.

“Cargo should pressurize if we are hit, and drop off. They have no reason to target it, it’s only food and luxury items.”

“How the fuck do you always know these things?” Kid is exasperated as they hurry through the corridors. Jack hopes that the merry band that flies the Murderous Rupert the Seventy Sixth knows what’s best for them, and just rolls over on their back and starts whimpering for mercy. Fucking Amarilla that can punch holes through planets.

“I like travelling safe.”

“Yeah, fucking safe, not counting the warship on our ass, you say?”

“Like I could have anticipated Federation’s op in an outer ass of galaxy,” Jack sighs as he punches in codes, and they hole up between containers. They just need to wait it out, he thinks as he bites on a protein bar, and it tastes godawful. There are some explosions that carry through the hull.

“Eh, old man, have you thought they might be coming for us?” The pest has a point, he must admit, but he always worked his ass off on covering their tracks. Well, maybe not that much, but they usually made their hits out of Federation space.

“Unlikely.” The shots are getting closer, some screaming, and the itch gets really bad, screaming danger to his brain, when cargo doors open. Danu sneaks a look.

And of course, who would be a stupid jackass enough to just enter the hold without a fucking care in the universe, if not a fucking Anaricc Robert ‘Rain’ Ortra. He really should have expected that. Jack bites back a groan and stops Jesse with his hand when the kid brings up his pistols.

“No. Absolutely bad idea. Don’t even try, if it’s not his armor, it will be his boyfriend, if neither of them, karma itself will get you.”

“You being stupid or what? He’s unarmed.” The bane of his life whines.

“Trust me. Fucking zero is never unarmed.“ Jack growls at the other mercenary and steps out, his rifle held high, and ignores a silent question of ‘zero?’ from the pest. “Whom do I owe this pleasure, Ortra?”

Fucking son of a bitch danu has guts to smile, the tattoos on his face moving excitedly.

“Long time no see, John. I came to talk.” That gets no reaction out of Jack. “Partly on the behest of councilwoman Anna Night.”

“You know that this bitch is playing the long game? She always has something going on.”

“She just doesn’t want a zero with your temperament running unchecked. I don’t want to clean up your messes anymore if you’re not on my payroll.” Jesse looks at him, amazed, mouths a question again ‘old crew?’. “And we are organizing a new unit for the time being. Thought you might want to join, considering you will have a backup doing the same thing you are doing now.”

“And that would be?”

“The Council decided Talon is a threat enough now, what with their unofficial alliance with Kriegsverbrechern and the fact they have at least two redeyes running for them.”

“And you want me?” Jack laughs. The idea is a ridiculous one.

“Yep. Besides, it will stop you, a bit, from going off on your own all the time. I mean, low profile and you don’t mix and a lot of places have a tendency to go boom in your general vicinity.”

“Most of my powers are passive.”

“So are mine, and look, I lead like a half of the whole force. Besides, you are a Knight.”

“A Knight that had his Sorceress die.”

“Shit happens. Still a Knight. And a Heart.”

“Can’t find a ship that likes me enough not to try to murder me after a flight.”

“That was only once, Jack, and you took Heart on Tara. Lived to tell the tale. And you are not even interfaced, to boot.”

“Well, I died anyway.”

“Yeah, well, I died twice. Besides, you looking good. White hair fits you.”

Jack snorts, while Jesse mumbles about a fucking pissing contest, because, honestly, what was that supposed to be if not exactly that.

“Two demands. One, no one knows my identity. Two, the kid comes with me, gets assessed, trained and is under my command, everyone else fucks off.” That earns Jack raised eyebrows from the other danu.

“I thought you would give me something like a heart of a star or some other shit, this shit is easy. Deal.”

Jack shouldered his rifle and comes up to the other man, shaking his hand.

“The kid, though. Yours?”

“Going blind, Ortra? He is half-alef, even you can tell that,” Jack sputters.

“Sure, but he’s danu-alef.”

“Fuck you, and your insinuations.” Jesse is, frankly, just surprised, because the old man is riled up more than he usually is when asked if they are related.

“So the little bundle of joy is his.” And Jack grunts noncommittally. Great. Jesse shrugs. One more thing to the stack of secrets the old man keeps from him, and he swears one day he is going to kick them out of his ass, so help him gods.

“Will you fucking tell me what just happened?” He pipes up.

“You got recruited by Alpha Zero.”

“…you shitting me, right, old man?” Right. Sure as hell. That got to be a joke, because old man wouldn’t spend a day in the military. He spent his days shooting at the military. And gangs. And Talon. And people that might have slightly displeased him. And inanimate objects. Well, Jesse concludes, the old man shoots at everything and anything, if the fancy hits him. Okay, maybe he was in the military once.

“No. Meet Anaricc Ortra, otherwise known as Rain. One guy you don’t ever want to play pranks on.”

“What, he so scary?” Anaricc rolls his eyes.

“Worse, he has karma. Trip him and the next thing you know you walk face first into closing doors. Doesn’t work only on one guy he’s fucking on and off.”

“Oh, for fucks sake, leave Carol out of this.”

“So the off is the state right now.” Jack laughs at the same time as Jesse asks.

“You’re fucking a guy who’s name is Carol?”

“I don’t have time for this shit right now.” Anaricc throws his arms into the air. “We have the ship under control, so you both, go grab your stuff and board. Oh, Jack, and what do I call you?”

“Seventy Six, like the ship.”

Danu makes a literal facepalm and Jack clicks the mask to cover his face.

“You were never the imaginative one, for sure.”

“Fuck you, and your little dog too.”

When they make it to their cabin, Jack groans at the girl clutching sheets to her breast.

“Fuck, Jesse, does it always have to be my bed?”

“Someone has to be having sex in it sometimes. You’re either too old, or celibate,” Jesse snaps at him, while smiling apologetically at the woman. “Jerking off don’t count as sex.” He adds, stuffing clothes into the other bag. “Sorry, darling, you will have to finish by yourself.”

She doesn’t answer but gives him a stinkeye Jesse is sure he doesn’t deserve, because how is this whole fucking disaster any of his fault?

When they board the shuttle, it’s only them and Anaricc.

“You owe me a fuckton of answers, Jack,” Jesse scowls at him. He is only a whole load lost in this whole mess, and it’s all the old man’s fault.

“Right, you going to get some of them when we settle in. There is one thing. No more Jack or John or Morrison from this point on. Call me Seventy Six. Only that.”

“Like hell, old man, you’re old man through and through.”

“Pest. So, you have a Heart now on the Amarilla?” Jack asks the other danu.

“Yeah, two actually.”

“Have you told them you’re bringing me?”

“Have some trust in me, Seventy Six,” Anaricc looks to the ceiling. “I told them I’m bringing in another Heart.”

“What does it matter, old man?” Now Jesse is a bit curious.

“There are some traditions that should be observed,” Jack crosses his arms over his chest while Anaricc murmurs something about ‘fucking Kingdom customs’.

True to their word, what happens when they land is pretty bizarre. There is only the biggest woman Jesse has ever seen – not the fattest, just the biggest (he feels deeply intimidated by that) – that waits for them in the dock.

Jack and her go down on a knee at the same time with their fists over their hearts.

“The Ship welcomes you, Kaa.” Her voice is deep.

“I welcome the Ship, Kaa.” The old man answers, his voice changed by the mask.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “They had their own callsign, it was ‘those two motherfuckers’. There were times you were afraid to open even a frigging cupboard.”
> 
> ***
> 
> “You’ve stopped hiding. So careless. So unlike you. What changed, Jack?”

“So…” Jesse starts, observing, as the woman and Jack go at this, and it is indeed gloriously ridiculous. “What does Kaa mean?”

“It’s literally The Heart.” Anaricc sighs, irritated. “This is the literal bullshit stratosphere of The Kingdom.”

“So…” Jesse commits the picture of danu kneeling to memory, might prove very useful some given future time, and holy shit, doesn’t it hurt to just see the acrobatics of touching your forehead to the floor in this particular position. If the old man doesn’t throw his back like that, then his bed is much more wasted than he ever thought before. So much potential. “Grumps comes from The Kingdom?”

“Amida, no, that would make the prick even more insufferable than he already fucking is,” Anaricc shudders. “We just got him on Knight training and they got their little fucking poisoned claws in him.”

“Man, you got problems.” Jesse sums it up.

“I’m upfront with my problems.”

“Any chance they go by the name of Carol, eh?” Danu turns to him, his finger raised, mouth open, like he is waiting for something, but as the seconds tick he starts looking perplexed. “So, you hate on them because that guy, whose name is Carol,” no, Jesse is not going to drop that, like, ever, “ain’t giving you any, and he’s Kingdom?” Ah, if looks could kill.

“Have you finished your fucking gossip session, because we are fucking waiting on you?” Old man calls, waving them over, and Jesse takes the step… and trips, on a fucking smooth surface, how could it even be possible, he thinks, while staring at his own reflection looking up at him from the floor. And how do you make the floors that fucking shiny?

“I was actually getting a little worried there.” Fucking danu steps over him, like that’s completely normal while the old man just shakes his head (in this I’m so fucking disappointed in you way), and Jesse scurries to his feet, growling only a little bit under his breath.

“And this why we don’t backtalk to our Commander, little one. At least not to his face.” Woman laughs, offering him her hand, and fuck, are her palms big. Jesse shakes but it’s more like she shakes him. “Aleksandra Zaryanova, but everyone calls me Zarya around here. I’ll be your primary Heart on Athena.”

“…Jesse. McCree. Old man calls me pest, ingrate, or bane of his life.” Zarya laughs again, nodding.

“As all fathers do their sons…” Which of course is cut short by Jack.

“I’d put a damn bullet in my head, if I were his father.”

“Idle threat, Seventy Six, that wouldn’t put you down for too long.” Other danu offers and old man only scoffs.

“I told you what you can do with your insinuations before.” There is again this booming laughter, and it looks strangely like family, even, maybe a bit, feels like it. The thought makes Jesse start with a realization, that the old man just fits into all this too easily, too familiar, like he were a puzzle piece that just clicked into place, while Jack and Anaricc spend time leisurely swearing at each other. Until they stop by one door out of many lining the corridor and Jesse notices Zarya had left them somewhere on the way.

“I keyed them to both your signatures for time being. Tomorrow we transfer to Athena.”

“Why do you have living quarters so close to docks?” Jesse has to ask. Anaricc looks questioningly at the old man.

“Not my fault he’s that stupid,” he shrugs while opening the doors and walks inside. “We took five slip junctions on the way, kid. What’s the deck time?”

“Oh, eighteen hundred now, we should be ready to disengage at twelve tomorrow. So be ready and not too hangover.” Danu slips inside too and plops himself down on one of two beds while waving his hand in the air. That makes bottles and glasses appear on the table.

“Nice trick!”

“You really want to play a fucking catch up game?” Jack grumbles as the mask recedes. He grabs a bottle and just takes a swig out of it before sitting down, so very old man thing to do.

“I know what you’ve been doing all that time, but you, you start with a new fucking team that only two people on now have any experience hunting redeyes, and no one will let me on any field work that might have a fucking shadow appearing anywhere close.” Anaricc pouts, filling his own glass, and Jesse joins in, if only to listen to them bicker. “I’m not even fucking imprinted anymore.”

“Well, if he lets you on one of those ops, you know he doesn’t want to see your fucking face no more.”

“I figure, but he won’t even talk to me now.”

“Jesse, first lesson,” Jack raises the bottle to him, and Jesse sips his own drink. “Alpha Zero has two fucking commanders, and they are not even on speaking terms right now.”

“That seems like a very inefficient way of running the crew. Reckon, there were those Los Muertos once that blew themselves up before we even got there, yeah? Not on speaking terms either.” Jesse grins. They were just casing the joint when it literally went up in flames, and old man literally cackled when he got a wind of what was going on there, sat down, popped a beer and watched the infighting, pausing only to shoot some poor bastard himself. “Don’t know about the fucking, though.”

“Sure, laugh it up. At least we don’t do property damage, Jack on the other hand…”

“Don’t you fucking dare…”

“Now I definitely need to hear that.” Jesse feels like his face is going to fall off if his grin gets any wider, but, hey, dirt on the old bastard.

“We had to drop them on a dead planet to let them sort their fucking lover’s quarrel. Was a bad move because apparently that was a fucking foreplay, and hey, we still have everything on the record.” Old man only groans and takes another swig. “But, hey, you both got one upped, Shimadas flattened two outposts and brought down a cruiser during their familial disputes.”

“What, we now have a Shimada on the force, and Shimadas, as in plural?” Jack asks in a tone that’s akin to his ‘what is this world coming to?’. “If I remember correctly, they wouldn’t even fucking talk to us after we negotiated with the Old Clans about the princeling.”

“First one came on his own, the second one was an apology token for breaking the first one – which the second one actually done himself. I fucking hate autonomies and the fuckery they get to, and the fact that we allow them to do all this shit under our charter. On the same note, Vishkaris sent us a token of goodwill too.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jesse stops them. “You said ‘lover’s quarrel’, you mean he,” points at Jack, who raises his eyes to heavens, “had someone, anyone? I thought he was kinda asexual always.”

“They had their own callsign, it was ‘those two motherfuckers’. There were times you were afraid to open even a frigging cupboard.”

“All perfidious lies.” Jack answers, but there is a weak, wistful smile tugging at his lips that makes Jesse feel slightly bad as old man drinks again. The commander suddenly seems rather willing to drop the subject too.

“But as other surprises go, you will have another cyborg and the congregation of Shambali.” Old man certainly is glad for the change of the topic back to the questions at hand. “And two K’thn, both a handful. I just hope Raven is not going to meddle, since one of the redeyes is our own, and he just loves the tragic hero story.”

“You don’t say…?” Jack’s voice is guarded, unnaturally so, and there is this wrinkle in the corner of his eyes.

“Remember Amelie? Yeah, even if they call her Widowmaker now,” other danu chuckles darkly. Jesse doesn’t think he notices the relief washing over the old man, which is curious. “The other one is called Reaper, she or he has supposedly a penchant for ripping souls out of living, and since we only heard about it, no solid data. You have your work cut out for you, Jack, even if it will involve punching a god again, and if it does, lob one for me too.”

“Fucker startled me. It was pure instinct.”

“Still, punching a god. Nice thing to put on your resume.” Anaricc gets up and goes for the door. “Remember, twelve hundred and look sharp, Seventy Six.”

“Sure,” old man sips at his bottle and salutes him off. Jesse lets the conversation sink in.

“You punched a god?”

“Eh, it just happened one day.”

“Does everything ‘just happens one day’ to you, old man?”Jesse feels incredulous, because the guy was always a fucking badass, but every little thing he pries however he manages about the bastard, he’s just more and more out there, somewhere, levels above… above anything Jesse is familiar with.

“Seems kind of like that. Besides, Raven’s a god only in relative terms, he is powerful enough that he created or just can sustain his own world, and grant parts of his powers to others, and do fucked up things to time and space. There was a moment that we tracked him and Dream to existing three times simultaneously each, here only.” Jack shudders at the memory of the logistics of trying to juggle the princeling and the broody one so that they never meet. It failed, obviously. It was pretty funny, all things considered, when the broody paranoid one tried to kill the other. On the other hand, holy shit, causality. “He’s a moody overdramatic asshole who loves to play pranks on himself.”

“Wow, right, reminds me of someone I know.” Jesse sniggers while rolling his eyes, interrupted only by a knock at the doors and light ‘it’s me’ on the other side. The only thing he manages to notice before there is a fist in his face is an eyepatch.

“Sorry, kid, I thought you were someone else,” the woman says as she steps over him, and goddamn, it seems like it is a new trend forming, people stepping over him.

“Wait, I can e…” Another meaty thud and as he glances over from his (un)comfortable place on the floor, old man hits the wall and then slides down, blood dripping already from a broken lip. She does have a nasty right hook, Jesse concedes.

“You better do that, Jack.” Danu gets him up and then hugs him tightly. Jack hesitantly returns the gesture. “I missed you, you idiot. Why would you even fake your death!”

“I didn’t. It just didn’t take,” old man mumbles, and then adds. “I missed you too, Ana.”

“You know exactly what I mean, John Morrison!” She stomps on his foot, hard, as Jesse manages to pull himself onto bed. This seriously ain’t his day, and it seems it ain’t light on the old man either.

“Yes, yes, just don’t hit me anymore.” Still, he says it with a fondness in his voice.

“I will consider it, maybe.” Ana pushes him towards the bed, then sits next to him. Somehow she produces a handkerchief and wipes blood off Jack’s chin. Old man allows it. “So that’s Gabriel’s little surprise? Well, at least you did a good job on keeping him suppressed. And he seems alive enough, but to be frank I’d prefer a girl.”

Gabriel. Good, Jesse puts it in the back of his mind, another little piece of puzzle to be used later to make a sense of the whole shit going over his head during last four hours actually. Oh, he is certainly happy he is taking it all in the stride, seems something of the old fucker did rub off on him, because otherwise he would be so freaking out of his skin like three hours ago.

“You have a daughter. You’d always prefer a girl.”

“Tch. Details.” Jesse squirms when she is so obviously seizing him up with her one eye, damn, the scrutiny is almost physical, and god damn it, there is the same white pupil just like Jack’s eyes. “Ana Amari, kid. And you are Jesse McCree. Hm?”

“Yes, Ma’am?” He answers hesitantly, because, hell, this woman commands respect. At least her right hook does in its own right. Jack snickers, and falls suddenly silent under her gaze.

“You’re not off the hook, yet, Morrison. I can see you told him nothing.”

“No, Ma’am, he ain’t told me anything, I think. It was all ‘it just happened one day’.”

“Could we do this another day…?” Jack grabs at his bottle again, trying not to wither under her glare.

“No, John, he should know where his birthright might take him,” Ana whacks the old man over his head. And then again the harpy sets her sights on him, and Jesse gulps. “Your father was Gabriel Reyes, a Sorcerer. Jack here was his Knight. Gabriel fell to the shadow, became redeyes, killed Jack, and then died to the Tharan Artifact, which did that also.” She points in general to her white hair and eye.

“Oh,” Jesse makes sure to prolong the sound. “That tells me so much, Ma’am, since, like, I literally don’t know what anything you said means. Except the thing that my father’s name was Gabriel Reyes, and the old man knew him.”

“Really, Jack? Really?” His only answer is another chug from the bottle.

“So, what is this redeyes thing that got everyone’s panties in a twist?”

Ana sighs.

“Redeyes is a powerful person, a Flame, that becomes corrupted by the shadow. Their soul is lost, only thing you can hope to do is put a bullet in their head and pray they manage to free themselves post mortem. Otherwise they do not come back to the cycle and the universe becomes more and more unbalanced.” She moves her hand to her face, and flips the eyepatch up. The eye is there, but the dark void that sits in a place of white is terrifying and pulling, same as a burning red of a pupil and iris. Jesse can’t tear his gaze from the hole that threatens to swallow him, at least until Ana covers the gaping maw of the void again. “This is redeyes, kid. I was lucky. Jack saved me.”

“I saved nobody.” Old man rises, stiffly. Takes the bottle. This might be troublesome, Jesse thinks, if he keeps that up, he hadn’t seen the danu drink much ever before. “Be back in a moment.” Doors hiss.

Ana looks at him again, her one eye gazes, hard. And she waits before she speaks, making sure no one else will hear it.

“Listen, kid. Whatever you hear about Jack… It was Jack, who made the right call. It was Gabriel, who made the wrong call. But any choice Gabriel had then, it was all a wrong choice. Life just isn’t fair sometimes.” She sighs. “One of them was going to be lost that day, but it is Knight’s duty to protect and guide the Sorceress. Remember that, kid. And tell Jack I’ll see him tomorrow.”

Just like that, she is gone, leaving Jesse again with one answer and a shitton more of questions, so yes, he can see that life ain’t fair, surely. When he comes back, old man doesn’t talk anymore and just lies down to sleep, ignoring him, kind of pointedly.

Several hours later, it is a strangled scream that sends Jesse scurrying for his guns and when lights come back, old man is half kneeling by his bed, hand to mouth, and there are red droplets falling to the floor. And the eyes, they are just like Ana’s hidden red eye, both of them. Jack coughs again, and this time there is much more blood between his fingers, but red points fade slowly to white.

“…that’s why I don’t do hyperspace travel…” Danu offers weakly. Jesse puts together another piece of the puzzle.

“That man, Gabriel. He still alive, ain’t he?”

Jack doesn’t answer, but neither does he move. Nor deny.

 

***

 

Reaper moves his fingers under the mask and gazes at the blood smeared on the black leather. He feels a new beat in his chest, a beat of the hunt, and he smiles like a predator, slightly too many teeth in there, but he likes it that way. So many years he was too late every time, trail cold and gone, but now, now he had a new one.

“You’ve stopped hiding. So careless. So unlike you. What changed, Jack?”

Words still in the air, but the dying (yet again) bond carries them over in its last throes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is a monster. And it is slow. But Anaricc is one of the speshul babies.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Did they…?” Jesse asks under his breath.  
> “They did.”  
> “I’m starting to think old man got more tail than I ever did.”   
> *  
> “He also sends his condolences on behalf of your untimely death in coming days, darling. Pity it won’t change anything.”
> 
> I guess we are now mainly discussing Jack's love life or rather its lack.

All things considered, old man looks no worse for the wear for everyone else, especially after he had barfed up a literal pint of blood in the middle of the night. Otherwise he’s as taut as a pulled bowstring. Jesse slides closer to the danu and nudges him with his elbow.

“How’s your itch, old man?” Jack scoffs at him.

“Worse than ever.” Jesse mulls over it, since old man offered something up after the whole shit with coughing blood everywhere around their cabin. So, as that guy (he is pretty adamant about not going around and calling him father or anything of the sort since he didn’t think to show his face around before Jesse was Jacked – heh, Jacked) apparently knew where the danu started his jump and where he ended it…

“It’s that…?”

“I suppose.” Oh yeah, Jesse can tell Jack rolls his eyes – an art form in itself when he really puts the effort in – not particularly happy about the turn of the subject.

“So, old man, does it go the other way too?”

“Sometimes I forget you’re not as stupid as you look, pest.” So, it does, and Jesse draws his brows together, waiting for the old bastard to continue. “Alarmingly close. Closer than ever before.” Jack’s lips curl in a smirk, bloodthirsty one in how the upper lip shows his teeth, but there is no real emotion behind it, more like a reflex. “Now I have the firepower.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Ana comes behind them like a fucking shadow and throws her arms over their shoulders. Jesse almost jumps out of his skin, and that certainly ain’t the fear of her right hook speaking, no sir. She ain’t anything to be afraid of, she just packs a mean punch. That’s what Jesse tells himself. Okay, fuck it, the woman kind of terrifies him. “What was that about the firepower?”

“Just mentioning it’s enough to bring down redeyes or two.” Jack shrugs and she gives him a curious glance. Well, one thing is obvious, Ana is not going to let bullshit fly by her. “And maybe a shadow.”

“Someone particular on your mind?”

“Maybe.” Old man winces visibly and Jesse finds this kind of funny, as long as he himself won’t be an object of the harpy’s scrutiny. Ana’s one eye is searching.

“Maybe,” she repeats coldly. “When were you going to drop this particular bomb on us?”

“Preferably never?” Jack shifts uncomfortably under her gaze.

“Have you at least told…?” And Jesse thinks it’s the least he could do for the old man, save him some dignity, at least this second, and probably save him from another fucking loving beating later.

“About that guy? Yeah, I reckon he did.” He drawls, rolling his eyes. “Old bastard is pretty good about intel when he thinks you need it. Otherwise, it’s like pulling dragon scales off.”

“I know the feeling, kid,” Ana sounds oddly sympathetic. “They were always emotionally constipated. Took them long enough to stop hate-fucking.”

Jesse laughs, because to imagine the old man fucking is bizarre in itself, and then, hate-fucking, it implies a show of emotion other than mild annoyance, disappointment or acknowledgement.

“I really love how everyone wants to discuss my sex life,” Jack does sound irritated, but a brief incline of his head says it all to Jesse.

“The fact that you have none, old man?” Danu only sighs and shakes his head. Jesse wants to add something else, but they are interrupted by the commander coming on the deck with Zarya.

“I hope you are all well and rested,” Anaricc looks pointedly at them, “because we’re boarding Athena now.”

“Aren’t we, like, far from the dock?” Jesse has to admit that this time he did count the junctions and came up with only three, so, no, they are not even close.

“A ship this big has several docks, pest,” old man snorts. “But it seems our dear commander wants to show us something.”

“Right, Seventy Six. You remember what I told you about Vishkaris? Symmetra, please.” This time Jesse does jump, a little only, as the oval of light appears before them, and he swears he can see some other place through it.

“Nice,” old man sounds approving. “Zero class architect. This is going to be extremely useful.”

“Wait until you see all of her tricks. She’s an active with focus on defense and support, but the things she can do, fucking beautiful.” Ana scoffs. “I wasn’t talking about your daughter, incidentally, so fuck off.”

“Oh, so you don’t think my daughter is beautiful?” The harpy starts her interrogation while Zarya lets out a giggle.

“I refuse to answer that, you’re just trying to make me incriminate myself. I wish you’d trip on something, but you’re too good about that.” Anaricc waves her off and steps through the portal, Zarya on his heels, but she manages to give Ana thumbs up behind his back.

“So, messing with him, is it like a local pastime?” Jesse inquires, because if the guy is really a commander of the half Alpha Zero like he was told, the backtalk is simply amazing.

“Yep,” Jack confirms lightly. “To actually see how far you can get before karma gets you. Don’t try it yet, if you must, pest, just observe how others get around it, because with your charm and grace you are going to kill yourself the first time you really try.” He shoves him forward.

“That doesn’t look safe, old man.”

“It’s safe. Off you go. You’re going to see much more strange fucking shit soon,” Jack grumbles, pushing him forward again and Jesse has to step through the oval, but he takes a deep breath before, just as a precaution. Incredibly, nothing happens, he just is in another dock, and the walls have a slightly different color scheme, bluish with yellow accents, in comparison with Amarilla’s pinkish hue.

“Close your mouth,” Ana pats his back as the portal disappears behind them with a soundless pop, which is a fucking oxymoron, because Jesse heard that and he knows there wasn’t a sound. Old man shivers lightly, but then moves forward to stand by Zarya, facing another woman, tall, with hair whiter even than his own.

There it is, the kneeling and the fists. Jesse sides to Anaricc.

“Okay, I feel you now. This is ridiculous. You do this shit every time you board a fucking ship?” Danu sighs.

“Only a heart ship with a Heart onboard.”

“Good to see he’s still that flexible, brings back good memories,” Ana smiles fondly and Jesse does hear an innuendo in her voice.

“You mean, like, you and old man…?”

“Oh yes. Very good memories,” the harpy laughs lightly at the gagging sound Jesse makes, because, gods be damned, he learned more about the old bastards love life in the last twenty four hours than he believed possible. And he believed old man had none before. Shocking.

“Right. They had a phase when it was ‘those three motherfuckers’, but usually kept it then to their quarters.”

“You know the saying, boys will be boys, they need a girl to temper them.”

“So, like, y’all, together? Like, for reals?” Jesse knows he shouldn’t – he doesn’t want to - ask, but can’t help himself.

“I was usually in the middle, or by the side, all worth it, especially the sights.” She makes sure to add a little lewd smile to the mix and Jesse shivers.

“That’s seriously not something I wanted to hear, like, ever, please. No more?”

“You asked,” Anaricc snorts. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answered, especially around people that will oblige. There’s a fucking chronicle of other shit you might hear about him. Or them. Not all of it good,” danu adds after a short pause. “Thank Amida, they’re finished,” he sighs, moving forward, but Ana stays behind, holding Jesse’s arm. He looks at her questioningly before the Heart on the Athena launches herself at Jack, hugging him by neck.

“Darling! I haven’t seen you for such a long time!” Old man visibly flinches.

“Good to see you too, Ariom,” he offers a clipped answer.

“A kiss would be nice.” She’s all sultry now. “Tara misses you.”

“Nameless Goddess, I hate your ship, it tried to kill me.”

“Did they…?” Jesse asks under his breath.

“They did.”

“I’m starting to think old man got more tail than I ever did.”

Ana moves forward, stops a step behind Jack, who is so obviously uncomfortable now it isn’t funny. Jesse notices too late she did that to be just out of the range of the woman’s hands as a finger ghosts under his own chin.

“He’s a pretty one too, I could just eat him up.”

“Stop it,” old man is strangely stern and tense. “Why are you here?”

“You’re going to be working against Kriegsverbrechern, so of course, The Kingdom of Heaven will be providing its moderate support where needed, and I just really wanted to give you regards from Raven.” Her voice gets quieter and slightly disturbing. “He also sends his condolences on behalf of your untimely death in coming days, darling. Pity it won’t change anything.”

“Stop it,” Jack’s voice is commanding but it only makes her smile coyly.

“Whatever is your plan, abandon it, it won’t work. It’s better to give up now, maybe you will live,” Ariom moves her fingers and plucks a dark feather from the air. She puts it behind Jack’s ear. “A token, from a god to a mortal, may the Nameless Goddess have you in her thoughts, may the Raven fly above you, may the White Dragon walk your path, Jack an Darschkitraa, my prince.”

She steps back and dissolves in the same black tendrils she pulled the feather from. Jack stays immobile, his fists clenching and unclenching slowly.

“That whore,” he slowly forces through clamped teeth.

“What the fucking fuck was that?” Jesse asks, wide-eyed, because he might have just about now reached a critical mass of bullshit. Whatever that woman did, it pulled on something in his being, something physical, but not at all, and Jack, he had never seen him so furious, the emotion coming in  the waves off the old man. Ana moves before he has a chance and lightly touches her palm to Jack’s back.

“What are you planning to do, Jack?” She asks in a worried, hushed tone, almost fearful. “She wouldn’t call you that otherwise.”

The old man doesn’t answer for the longest moment, his breath ragged. They wait for him to calm down.

“What has to be done,” finally he admits and leaves them. Jesse can’t help the uneasiness settling in his stomach while he looks at him. But what disturbs him more is the fact he understood what that woman said. Jack, son of the White Dragon Clan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was supposed to be something entirely else, but the story and the world got in the way.
> 
> Trivia time:  
> (If anyone interested, an old picture of the broody paranoid one: http://gyromitra-esculenta.tumblr.com/post/154054185327/ with more trivia about alef/danu.)  
> 1\. Majority of alef in the Federation are Old Clans. Majority of universe’s alef live in the Empire. Best integrated alef live in the Kingdom.  
> 2\. Alef and danu are actually two wariants of the same race, they just usually don’t like each other and think the other to be at least slightly inferior or barbarian. There’s hardly any cross-breeding. Most of danu-alef are born in the Kingdom, since the Kingdom is a bit like a bureaucratic hippie commune.  
> 3\. There are 3 main factions: The Federation of Free Worlds, The Kingdom of Heaven and the Heavenly Empire.  
> 4\. Ariom is a Shadowdancer. I'll make a segment on Shadowdancer when the time comes for them to shine a bit.  
> 5\. Since it is a HIGH FANTASY SPACE OPERA danu and alef basically are elves. Like, you know, elves in space!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We move to Jack, and somehow it's an angstfest.

Jack slowly sits back in a chair in their new cabin, not a temporary one, because they won’t be moving from Athena now, not for long at least, and certainly not with an architect on board, and reflects on the words of Ariom. He isn’t sure how he feels about the woman, there certainly is an undercurrent of deep resentment that cuts clean through strained camaraderie they might have shared once, she is the source of half of his problems, and maybe it’s true, because she was the one to find him. She was the one to pass him to the other one. They both decided for him, and in that, gave him virtually no choice. He hates the feeling – that he was maybe set on one path that hardly ever wavers from the point of origin.

They were both complicit in this whole trainwreck of a fuckup his life has become. Jack sighs wistfully and hides his face behind his hands, silence heavy in the room. At least, at one point, it made a certain sense of the face Gabriel let slip when they were introduced to each other the first time. Surprise with a hint of shock and suspicion.

“I miss you,” he says to no one particular. “I miss you, you stupid bastard.”

Because, at that moment, Gabriel is dead, there’s something unnatural occupying his body and his memories, and the only hope Jack has is to have this thing die with himself.

“Athena, give me archived personnel files, Gabriel Reyes,” the screen flickers to life above the table.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t recommend it in your emotional state, commander,” Athena sounds concerned, they always had a good rapport, he thinks.

“Anaricc told you about…?”

“Of course, commander, but I assume that in the confines of your private quarters I may address you as such. Should I pull up personnel files?” Athena asks again.

“I just want to see him again.” The archive comes alive. Jack flicks his hand, skipping pages of text annotated with ‘killed in action’, which makes him grit his teeth. It is true. Gabriel is dead and it’s his fault, it will always be his fault, that he wasn’t fast enough, that he didn’t anticipate this one time what he would do, so stupid, so reckless.

So fucking selfish, the bastard always was, screaming for him to run as his eyes bled red and Jack bled inside while their bond frayed and broke.

First picture hits him hard, he feels his hand trembling in the air, frozen. It was taken just after Gabriel’s defection, him still in the imperial uniform, brown eyes set cold, lips pressed, posture rigid and hardened, scars on his face intimidating. Edges you can cut yourself on and walls you can’t hope to scale.

There is so much of him in Jesse that Jack remembers how painful was it to look at the kid when he was this wild thing, lashing out at him any chance he got, but he really can’t fault him for that after what he had done. What they had done. Selfish, always so selfish, so concerned with themselves, with himself, even now.

He flicks through other pictures, slowly growing different, the change visible in motion, Gabriel becoming a little bit open with each one, more at ease with himself, more alive, until he finds the last one in the file, taken before Jesse. They are both in it, and Jack swallows the sudden tightness in his throat. Because Gabriel is smiling in it, a real unguarded smile, hand raised up to his own face, looking sideways at the blonde at his side – try as he might, he can’t think of it as being him, too much changed, too much broke on the way, too much bitterness and anger and desperation – and Jack feels it spill outside only when drops of dampness hit his hand. He doesn’t remember the last time he cried.

He can’t remember if he ever cried. It hurts. He’s suffocating. It claws somewhere deep, somewhere he managed to keep dead until now – when he can allow himself to feel at least a moment of vulnerability.

“Commander?” Athena asks, and Jack only shakes his head weakly.

“It’s okay, it’s been… long, since…” His voice is hoarse, breaking up almost on every word, and Jack stops, taking long breaths. “It has been long since I’ve seen him,” he repeats more steadily.

“I understand, commander. Do you want me to call someone?”

“No. Thank you, Athena, for humoring me,” he manages a weak smile and her interface goes silent. Jack moves his fingers, almost caressing the holographic display. They were – maybe not happy – but content, settled down into their bond. Maybe it would have turned differently if they had been born – both of them – under the Kingdom’s area of influence, maybe there wouldn’t be so much time lost between them, if they ever met then. If. The scariest word of all.

“You know, I think you will like him,” Jack closes his eyes, the first time he talks with someone that isn’t there. “You will butt heads, for sure, but he is a good kid, he understands so much more than he lets on, but plays a fool. Pretty sharp. Big mouth, just like you,” he chuckles. “Incorrigible flirt, like you, too. But he is considerate. Thoughtful. Even if he doesn’t look the part.”

Words come easier, but at the same time they hurt worse.

“He will need you, Gabe. You…” Jack needs to draw another deep breath. “You will need him. I guess… I guess it will be hard at the beginning. It… it always is, but I guess you will both manage…”

And the last thing he has to say, it weighs the most.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I won’t be there to… Nameless… Gabe, I’m sorry. There’s no other way and I’ll be damned if…” He has to stop. He has to. But he can’t. It’s cruel, to both of them. “I loved you,” he adds quiet, restrained, his hands balling into fists. “Deal with it.”

“Goodbye, Gabe.” Jack ends the recording and his shoulders sag. No, It doesn’t feel good to let go at all. It feels worse than before, when he kept it all locked up somewhere away, with more pressing matters to take care of in foreground. But all of that was taken care of now and the last thing left – the only thing he had to concentrate on.

It doesn’t help.

He stands up and moves towards his room, but something left on the side table startles him.

“Athena, what is this thing doing here?” Jack hisses, picking up the sheathed sword.

“I’m sorry, commander, up until last five minutes it was secluded in the armory. I have no record of it being moved. There is a signature corresponding to…” The ship stops, her voice perplexed suddenly. “I had the signature on the file. It is missing now.”

“Fucking gods, the melodramatic fucks,” his hands tremble while he removes the sword from the scabbard, gazing into green stone. Jack laughs, it’s a mirthless broken bark rather. Kitraaga, a sword to kill monsters, a rune for Duty in its handle. His sword. “Whatever you’re planning, you can all go and screw yourselves. I’m done with playing your games!”

“Incidentally, commander, miss Amari and mister McCree are unlocking the doors.” Jack manages to sheathe the sword back. Ana looks over him, stops for a second on the photograph, and then her eye seizes the sword.

“That wasn’t very nice, Jack, leaving the kid alone on foreign ship.” She isn’t scolding him and Jesse just saunters in, dropping his bags on the floor. “Did you take out the sword?”

“We don’t know who removed it, miss Amari. It was safely deposited in the armory,” Athena informs, ever so helpful.

“I see. You’re going to be good, Jack?” He nods, slightly, and she knows he won’t. “Orientation is in two hours, Anaricc will want the both of you there. I’ll let you get ready,” Ana excuses herself and is out the door faster than a shadow.

“Wowza, old man, when you were younger, you certainly were a catch. I banged chicks with uglier mugs than yours there,” Jesse points at the picture and what comes out of his mouth is so bizarre Jack can’t help, but laugh, strained yet truthful. He’s just tired now, the tension leaving his shoulders. There will be time for other goodbyes.

“I’m… intimately aware of the fact, Jesse, since more than once it took place in my bed.”

“You jealous, that’s all.” The pest pulls himself a chair and sits down, pointing again. “That him?”

Jack sighs and comes back to the table, sword left lying between the both of them.

“Yes. The last official picture on the file. There are others, you can ask Athena to see them. You were given my access, so you should be able to search to your heart’s content.”

“And the sword? Ana freaked about it, the harpy really did,” Jack rolls his eyes. The big mouth was going to get him in so much trouble.

“Don’t let her catch you calling her that.” Jesse scoffs, like ‘do you really take me for such a fool’. Jack can’t make up his mind on that one. “It chooses its wielder, but otherwise, there is absolutely nothing special about it, maybe except the fact that it doesn’t dull. And can cut a lot of things.”

“Sounds overly complicated. Like it just shows up?”

“Kind of… yes, the first time. They’re stuff of fables,” Jack reaches over the table and ruffles Jesse’s hair. “Listen, kid… Jesse. I know I’ve never said it before… Probably will never say it again.”

“Yer scaring me, you old bastard.” Jesse doesn’t move back and spares him concerned look.

“I’m proud of you, Jesse. I really am. Just remember that.” The kid raises his own hand and holds Jack’s in place, his face suddenly serious.

“You’re really planning on doing something unfathomably stupid, aren’t you, old man? Let me on the plan.”

Jack chuckles, not even trying to cover the sigh behind it.

“There really isn’t much of a plan.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's a thing. So, yeah. Original established universe.


End file.
